While traveling down a country road, Len and I discovered over a dozen fallen trees Beginning at N 42° 15.350 W 078° 41.662 -and- Ending at N 42° 15.310 W 078° 41.575. These fallen trees only occurred along the wooded section of the road, and only for that short distance. The opposite side of the road is meadow with no apparent affect.
THE MYSTERY …. What do you think caused all these uprooted trees in this short section of the forest? The posted picture shows the roots to be relatively shallow. Did construction of the road disturb the root system allowing for high winds to topple them? Then why are the trees only uprooted in this small section of roadway? Or is this because the bedrock is close to the surface preventing a deeper root hold? But again, why are the trees only uprooted in this small section of forest? Perhaps the answer lies in the soil, or the water table.
FORMATION OF PIT AND MOUNDS
Pits and mounds might be considered the charismatic microtopography of the forest. These features, vividly nicknamed ‘pillows and cradles,’ are formed by the uprooting of trees. In most forests, these features contribute important habitat diversity while varying soil processes. The pit is formed where root mass and attached soil used to be, while the mound forms from the soil and roots that were pulled out of the ground.
SOIL DIVERSITY
Mounds tend to erode and thus are more unstable than the forest floor or the pit. The surface of the mound also contains very little organic matter because it is mainly soil that was uprooted from the mineral horizons of the soil layer. Pit and mound micro-relief resulting from trees uprooted by windthrow could have regimes of microclimate and soil features that differ from areas of undisturbed soil. Soil does vary with the three microsites associated with pits and mounds … pit bottom / mound top / undisturbed area.
UPROOTED TREES
When wind speeds are excessive, storms can cause entire trees to uproot. This is more likely to occur when soils are wet and the tree’s roots are unable to securely anchor themselves in the soil. Amid heavy rains a surge of fluid, or sap, is drawn up into the canopy making the tree top-heavy and prone to toppling. A large and healthy root system is crucial for a single tree, a small group of trees or a line of trees to survive a high wind event or fluctuations in sap levels. These uprooted trees are the cause of the pit/mound topography seen in forests.
In some forests containing trees with shallow roots, adjoining trees interlock roots for increased stability. If a road or plot of land is cleared of trees, the interlocked matrix is disturbed and a domino effect of additional falling trees can be observed following a wind storm or other event. Is it possible that is what is happening here?
To the south is a meadow that is relatively flat. To the north is the forest with the fallen trees at the edge. It is more of a rolling topography.
There are 16 fallen trees along the road only in this section between the posted coordinates and the waypoint coordinates. I believe there was a microburst that blew across the meadow uprooting the trees along this section of the road.